Fuel ignition method for coal burning railway car heaters



March 4, 1953 J. WHITE FUEL IGNITION METHOD FOR COAL BURNI NG RAILWAY CAR HEATERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 22, 1953 a o .0 0A

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A D Aqi jn 9 0 1' NVENTOR firromleys J. WHITE March 4, 1958 FUEL IGNITION METHOD FOR COAL BURNING RAILWAY CAR'HEATERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 22, 1955 I/WEN TOR JOHN WH/ TE Hrromvws J. WHITE March 4, 1958 FUEL IGNITION METHOD FOR COAL BURNING RAILWAY CAR HEATERS Filed April 22, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR' J H /v WHITE FTTORNEYS FUEL IGNITION METHOD FOR COAL BURNING RAILWAY CAR HEATERS John White, Hudson, Quebec, Canada, assignor to The Robert Mitchell Co. Limited, St. Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada This invention relates to a method'andapparatus for effecting rapid ignition of the fuel charge in fuel burners of the magazine type and is particularly useful for effecting rapid ignition of the coal charge contained in railway car heaters of the underslung-coal-burning type disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 350,468, filed April 22, 1953.

According to this invention a scoop-like member defined by top and side walls and open at the bottom and both ends is passed endwise through a door opening in the fire pot of a magazine fuel burner and forced into the mass of fuel lying between the discharge outlet of the fuel magazine and the fire-pot grate until the scoop is positioned directly below the magazine with the side walls of the scoop-like member resting on the grate. The coal is then cleared from the portion of the grate covered by the scoop-like member to enable a fuel lighting material, having a substantially'lower ignition point than the coal, to be positioned on the cleared portion of the grate and within the area bounded by the walls of the scoop-like member. The fuel lighting material is ignited, either before or after withdrawal of the scoop-like member, to etfect rapid. ignition of the main coal charge.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention the low ignition-point fuel lighting material is in the form of a cartridge consisting of oil-soaked charcoal enclosed in a bag or envelope made of easily ignitable material.

Proceeding now to a more detailed description of the invention reference will be had to the following drawings, inwhich- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of one type of coal burning heater to which the invention is applicable.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred form of scoop-like member used in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of the coal igniting cartridge employed in the practice of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating the manner in which the scoop-like member is initially inserted in the fire pot of the heater and forced into the mass of material lying between the delivery end of the fuel magazine and the underlying grate.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the manner in which the coal is cleared from the grate to provide a clear space for the insertion of the fuel lighting cartridge within the space bounded by the scoop-like member.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing the fuel lighting cartridge positioned on the grate within the area bounded by the scoop-like member.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 but omitting the showing of the scoop-like member.

While the present invention is capable of general application it is particularly useful for effecting rapid ignition of the coal charge in a coal burning railway car heater of the magazine type shown in Fig. 1. Since this type of United States Patent t) 2,825,636 Patented Mar. 4, 1958 heater is more fully'describedin my copending application Serial No. 350,468the following brief description thereof is deemed sufficient for 'presentpurposes.

Said heater comprises an outer casing 5- enclosing a fuel magazine 6 and a fire pot 7. Magazine 6 is charged with coal through a suitable charging door 8. Coal thus suppliedto magazine 6 passes downwardly through a discharge spout 9 andtis deposited on a grate lllmounted in the lower portion of fire pot 7 above the ash pit 11. The discharge spout 9 is spacedabove the grate 10 and is surrounded by a water-heating-coil llalso spaced above said grate. The coil 12 is connected to and forms part of a hot Water circulating system (not shown) which serves to heat the interior of the railway car beneath which the heater is mountedv in the manner characteristic of underslung car heaters.

Fire pot 7 is formed'with an upper, laterally extending smoke outlet 13 and a lower clean-out door 14, the latter being positioned directly opposite a clean-out door 15 provided in the lower portion of easing 5. A single rotary damper, indicated at 16, isprovided to control the outflow of combustion gases from the smoke outlet 13 to a chimney 17 and the inflow of combustion air to the interior of casing 5 which is in communication with the fire pot 7 through the ash pit11 and the grate 10.

Rapid ignition of the coal in a coalv burning heater of the magazine type shown in Fig. 1 is an importantconsideration but is difiicult to effect by ordinary lighting methods. The present invention overcomes this difficulty by providing a methodand means whereby a fuel lighting material, having asubstantialy lower ignition point than the coal, may be positioned on. the grate10 beneath the discharge spout 9 and easily, ignited to efiect rapid combustion of the coal. To. this end the, invention, in its preferred embodiment, consists in the provision of the scoop-like member 18 shown in Fig. 2 and the coal igniting cartridge 19 shown in Fig. 3.

The scoop-like member 18 comprises a top wall 18' and side walls 20 and is open at the bottom and at both ends. It is provided with a U-shaped manipulating handle 21 having the ends of its side arms 22 rigidly secured to the walls 20.

As shown to advantage in Fig. 3, the coal igniting cartn'dge 19 comprises a mass of oil-soaked charcoal 23 contained within an envelope 24 made of plastic, paper or other suitable material.

In the practice of my invention the scoop-like member 18 is passed endwise through the clean-out door 14 of fire pot 7 and is forced through the mass of coal lying between the grate 10 and the lower end of coil 12 as shown in Fig. 4. The coal is then cleared from the portion of the grate covered by the scoop-like member 18, as shown in Fig. 5, to thereby enable the fuel lighting cartridge 19 to be easily positioned on the grate and within the scooplike member 18 as shown to advantage in Fig. 6, wherein it will be noted that one end of the fuel lighting cartridge is accessible through the door 14 of fire pot 7 to permit of easy ignition of the cartridge. The fuel lighting cartridge 19 may be ignited either before or after withdrawal of the scoop-like member from the fire pot. The preferred method is to withdraw the scoop from the fire pot prior to ignition of the fuel lighting cartridge 19.

The aforesaid clearing of the coal from the portion of the grate covered by the scoop-like member 18 may be accomplished with the aid of any suitable tool capable of being used for raking coal off of the grate and through the open end of the scoop-like member positioned nearest the fire pot door 14, the coal thus removed from the grate being discharged from the fire pot through the opening controlled by the door 14. One form of tool which may be used for this purpose consists of an elongated handle member provided at one end with a flat blade extending at right angles thereto and adapted to be used for raking the coal from the portion of the grate covered by the scooplike member.

It will, of course, be understood that when the fuel has been cleared from the portion of the grate covered by the scoop-like member 18, as shown in Fig. 5, a loose mass of oil-soaked charcoal, or any other coal igniting material having a substantially lower ignition point than the coal may be arranged on the portion of the grate covered by the scoop-like member so that the said coal lighting material is accessible for ignition through door 14 of fire pot 7.

In the practical application of this invention excellent results have been obtained with a fuel igniting material consisting of one pound of charcoal having absorbed therein half a pound of fuel oil. In this connection it has been found that the charcoal treated with oil produces a rapid and intense heat which induces a strong draft, allowing the charcoal to ignite completely and to carry ondissipating its heat gradually to ignite the coal.

The confinement of the oil-soaked charcoal in a bag or envelope is of advantage in that it eliminates the necessity of compressing the oil-soaked charcoal into a definite dimensional form which would fit under the scoop. In this connection it may be noted that the bag or envelope is filled loosely with an approximate quantity of odd sizes of oil-soaked charcoal and can thus be formed into a shape most convenient for inserting under the scoop. The pack aging of the oil-soaked charcoal in a bag or envelope also has the advantage of ease of manufacture and pro viding a fuel igniter in the form of a cartridge which can be handled easily and conveniently. The bag or container is preferably made of polyethylene plastic which rapidly melts under the influence of heat and is resistant to the deteriorating eifect of fuel oil. The polyethylene plastic may, however, be replaced by any other material which is cheap and strong and will not deteriorate rapidly-in contact with fuel oil.

What I claim is:

1. A method of facilitating rapid ignition of fuel in a fuel heater of the magazine type having a grate disposed adjacent the bottom which comprises forcing into the portion of the fuel charge lying immediately above the grate a scoop-like member defined by top and side walls and open on the bottom and both ends and supporting substantially the whole of the fuel charge in a vertical direction, removing fuel from the portion of the grate covered by said scoop-like member to provide a clear accessible space, positioning on the grate and within the scoop-like member a combustible fuel lighting material having a lower ignition point than the fuel to be ignited and removing the scooplike member before the fuel charge is ignited.

2. A method of igniting the coal charge in a coal buming heater of the magazine type including a fire box having a grate and a coal magazine having a coal discharge outlet located above and spaced from the grate which comprises forcing into the portion of the coal charge lying immediately above the grate a scoop-like member defined by top and side walls and open at the bottom and both ends and supporting substantially the whole of the fuel charge in a verticaldirection, clearing coal from the grate to provide an accessible coal-free space above the portion of the grate covered by said scoop-like member, inserting into said coal-free space a fuel igniting cartridge consisting of oil-soaked charcoal contained within an enclosing envelope of easily ignitable material and igniting said cartridge and removing the scoop-like member before th coal charge is ignited.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 577,722. Cook Feb. 23, 1897 727,181 Moser May 5, 1903 1,223,442 Stuart Apr. 24, 1917 1,451,195 Bag1ey Apr. 10, 1923 1,802,626 Boyd et a1 Apr. 28, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS 132,969 Great Britain Oct. 2, 1919 387,985 Great Britain Feb. 16, 1933 

1. A METHOD OF FACILITATING RAPID IGNITION OF FUEL IN A FUEL HEATER OF THE MAGAZINE TYPE HAVING A GRATE DISPOSED ADJACENT THE BOTTOM WHICH COMPRISES FORCING INTO THE PORTION OF THE FUEL CHARGE LYING IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE GRATE A SCOOP-LIKE MEMBER DEFINED BY TOP AND SIDE WALLS AND OPEN ON THE BOTTOM AND BOTH ENDS AND SUPPORTING SUBSTANTIALLY THE WHOLE OF THE FUEL CHARGE IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION, REMOVING FUEL FROM THE PORTION OF THE GRATE COVERED BY SAID SCOOP-LIKE MEMBER TO PROVIDE A CLEAR ACCESSIBLE SPACE, POSITIONING ON THE GRATE AND WITHIN THE SCOOP-LIKE MEMBER A COMBUSTIBLE FUEL LIGHTING MATERIAL HAVING A LOWER IGNITION POINT THAN THE FUEL TO BE IGNITED AND REMOVING THE SCOOPLIKE MEMBER BEFORE THE FUEL CHARGE IS IGNITED. 